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Training and resource centre

The Training and Resource Centre for EUAIN was launched in May 2006 and this has provided an excellent and collaborative focal-point for gathering together the necessary information. In the near future, the EUAIN Network will offer a variety of training curricula, workshops and seminars.

The material in the Training & Resource Centre is divided into several sections in order that different stakeholders who are involved in Accessible Information Processing can find specific and appropriate information. This Training and Resource Centre has the following sections:

Processes: creating and producing accessible content
For the purpose of these materials, a case study can consist of several processes. A process can consist of several elements. These elements are the building blocks of the EUAIN Training materials. There are three main elements: Actors, Conversions and Formats.

Distribution: protecting and distributing accessible content
Once accessible content has been created and produced, it must be delivered to different communities and markets with varying degrees of protection. There are many different ways in which people can distribute and protect their digital content.

Standards: relevant standards
Standards are needed for many reasons, but probably the most relevant one is that they tell manufacturers how to make their products accessible in a detailed, coherent way. Legislation promotes the existence of standards, and they advocate for "accessible" technology or information. But it is standards that give the technical specifications of how this accessibility can be implemented and tested.

Guidelines: detailed guides for accessible information processing
EUAIN is not the first project to tackle the issues of Accessible Information Processing and there are several sets of Guidelines and Best Practice already in existence. However, until now these have not been brought together in a systematic manner. EUAIN aims to collate this information in order to focus stakeholders on specific information based on their specific requirements.

Case Studies: real-life examples
Case studies provide an insight into real life examples of accessible information publishing. Most of these case studies involve collaboration between content providers and specialist organisations, but some provide examples of integrated publishing processes which incorporate accessibility from scratch. Each case study is made up from the various elements in order to highlight the the use of Guidelines, Processes, Standards and Software. Where appropriate, you will find a link to detailed descriptions.

Software: available open source and commercial software
For content creators, structured information can be invaluable in many ways: content can be re-used for multiple output media; content can be syndicated; and structured content can be accessible content, which grants access to the information for elderly people and people with special needs. There are many tools available for the creation of structured or accessible information.

Training modules
The training and learning framework is primarily intended to provide support for everyone who directly effects digital content creation and decides about document distribution channels. This group requires general oriented courses and training materials as well as domain-specific training materials.

The general training materials include information about digital document standards and formats, accessibility guidelines and different kinds of publishers and distribution channels. Also important is knowledge about accessibility and alternative forms of presentation that fulfill special requirements for print impaired people. The curricula are illustrated by good practices of accessible content publishing and good examples of accessible digital documents.

In general, there are three themes. The first is related to different types of digital documents and their accessibility issues for print impaired people. The subject of the second theme is to discuss and demonstrate workflows for authoring tools and techniques that allow people to create documents accessible for all. The last theme addresses the processes that must be considered regarding content distribution and digital rights management.

In order to target the EUAIN modular training packages at the correct market segments, it is important to understand the various targets of the curricula presented. The most relevant modules can then be presented to these audiences. Following discussion and feedback, the initial curricula chosen were:

  • General introduction to Accessible Information Processing
  • Accessible Information Processing Lecture
  • Workshop on AIP design and markup Context
  • Conference Workshop on AIP technologies
  • In-House Training Day on Accessible Information Processing
  • Accessible Information Processing Overview for Senior Management

The Modules for the EUAIN training materials have been modeled on the structure of the WAI Resources on Developing Web Accessibility training and presentations. The structure is:

  • Module 1 – Why Accessible Information Processing is important.
  • Module 2 – Description of Accessible formats with examples of practical use
  • Module 3 – Business case and the Market for Accessibility
  • Module 4 – Implementing Accessible Information Processing
  • Module 5 – Evaluating and incorporating Accessible Information Processing.
  • Module 6 – Accessible Content and Accessible Authoring Tools
  • Module 7 – Promoting Accessible Information Processing

The EUAIN network has also gathered together a significant number of valuable resources for accessible information processing. The resources consist of:

  • Formats
  • Conversion processes
  • Standards
  • Guidelines
  • Case Studies
  • Scenarios

The materials collected together and structured into training curricula, modules and resources represent the first collection of its kind at a European level. Indeed, these resources can be considered as a flexible basis upon which to build an expanding knowledge base for this area. These materials were also made available in multimedia formats for offline and online presentations to different stakeholder communities. As these materials were evaluated they were amended and extended where necessary so that by the end of the funded project, a sound resource base exists upon which to predicate further exploitation of the project results.

The EUAIN project also brought much of this material together in a publication, entitled 'Guidelines for Accessible Information Processing’ and hard bound copies of this book and DVD are available on request.